Why behaving correctly after treatment matters
Pest control does not end when the specialist leaves. Whether the treatment works fully depends on your actions over the next hours and weeks. The most common cause of a "failed" treatment is incorrect cleaning that washes away the active product.
When to return home
First the exposure time set by the service must be observed, then the room ventilated — usually 2-4 hours depending on the substance and method. Do not return earlier than the service advised. The exact time is given at booking and in the report.
How to ventilate
Open the windows and create a draught for the recommended time. After ventilation there should be no strong smell. If the family includes allergy sufferers, young children, or pregnant women — ventilate longer and bring them back last.
How to clean correctly
This is the key point. After ventilation, wet-clean only the surfaces that people and animals contact: tables, chairs, kitchen work surfaces, door handles, windowsills, floors in walkways. But do NOT wash baseboards, corners, wall-to-floor joints, or areas behind furniture — that is exactly where the barrier product was applied, and it must stay untouched.
How long not to wash treated zones
The barrier product along baseboards and behind furniture should last 2-4 weeks (the exact period is given by the service). Throughout this time, a deep clean that washes these zones is postponed — otherwise you remove the protective layer and insects leaving their hideouts will not get a lethal dose.
Why dead insects keep appearing
This is normal and even good. After treatment, insects keep coming out of cracks for a while, contact the product, and die. Cockroaches and bedbugs can appear for 1-2 weeks or longer, gradually fewer and fewer. Full disappearance is a cumulative effect, not instant.
When re-treatment is needed
Re-treatment is needed if: insects keep appearing actively after 3-4 weeks; you see live ones in the same numbers; it concerns bedbugs or a heavy cockroach infestation — there a second visit is usually planned from the start to destroy the generation hatched from eggs. If the service gave a warranty, re-treatment under it is free.
Prevention to avoid recurrence
- Fix leaks and condensation — deprive insects of water.
- Do not leave food or crumbs; take out rubbish daily.
- Seal cracks behind baseboards and around pipes; mesh the ventilation.
- In an apartment block, coordinate treatment with neighbours on the same riser.
- Periodically inspect the "risk zones" — kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area.